In what appears to be a murder-suicide, three members of a Henry County family were found shot to death early Sunday in their home, which had been set afire. A fourth family member was wounded.

Authorities believe that William Ronald Carter Sr. killed his wife, his older son and then himself.

Police were called to 210 Wilhaven Lane in Axton at 12:17 a.m. Sunday to find the house on fire and the surviving victim at a nearby home. Timothy Carter, a 22-year-old Radford University student, had two gunshot wounds.

Carter told authorities that his 56-year-old father had summoned him home from college and then used "trickery" to lure him into the basement, according to a news release from the Henry County Sheriff's Office.

As Timothy Carter was going down the stairs, he was shot in the back by his father, authorities said, and was then shot a second time as he tried to escape.

At some point after that, apparently, the house was set on fire.

William Carter Sr., his wife, Bonnie Williams Carter, also 56, and their son William Ronald Carter Jr., 29, of Danville were all found shot to death in the basement.

Police reported finding a "combination rifle/shotgun" at the scene.

Timothy Carter was taken to Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County and then transferred to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

He was listed in fair condition Sunday afternoon.

Debra Akers, who lives across the street from the Carter home, said Timothy Carter showed up on her doorstep shortly after midnight.

"He was banging on the door, begging for us to let him in the house," Akers said. "He said his father was trying to kill him."

When Akers and her husband let Carter inside, they discovered he had been shot in the neck and the back. As they applied towels to Carter's wounds and called 911, they learned some details of what had happened.

Carter said that his father had called him at Radford earlier in the evening and told him there was something wrong with his older brother and that he needed to come home right way, Akers recalled.

"He said, 'Daddy lied to me,' and that he lured him back home," Akers said.

William Carter Sr. then led his son to the basement steps and shot him in the back as he was walking downstairs, Timothy Carter told the Akerses. By then, Timothy Carter had seen his mother and older brother lying on the basement floor.

After he was shot the first time, Timothy Carter pretended he was dead and managed to get away, he told the Akerses. He was shot a second time as he fled from the house, and was under the impression that his father was still looking for him when he got to the Akerses' home.

"It scared us to death," Akers said. "It's just seemed like a nightmare."

Timothy Carter didn't recall seeing any fire in the house as he fled, Akers said. Although police said they considered the blaze an arson, it was not clear Sunday how much damage it caused.

Akers and three other neighbors interviewed Sunday said they had no idea what went wrong at the Carter home. They described the Carters as quiet but friendly people, a churchgoing family who lived in a brick home with a carefully manicured lawn and flower beds that William Carter Sr. tended diligently.

Since retiring in April from Goodyear Tire in Danville, William Carter Sr. had been spending even more time with his yard work, said Lelia Grimes, who lives nearby. His wife, Bonnie, had recently found work as a nurse after getting laid off from a manufacturing job, she said.

"I can't say nothing but good about them," Grimes said. "I never saw anything out of the ordinary."

William Carter Sr. and his wife had been living alone since their two sons went off to college, neighbors said. William Carter Jr. had moved to Danville after graduating. It was not clear when, or why, he came back to his parents' home in Axton this weekend.

Grimes said she recently spoke to William Carter Sr. while walking past his house. Nothing seemed amiss, she said.

"He seemed to be in good health, and he was always talking about his flowers and his yard," she said. "I just don't understand it."